Sunday, January 9, 2011

One of the greatest things that happened to me in 2010 was the entry of ping-pong into my life. Since my place of business acquired a ping-pong table this past spring, hardly a day has gone by that I do not play for at least 15 minutes. As my ponging experience has gradually advanced, so too has my knowledge of the vast array of ping pong strokes that can be executed during a game. I've set some of these out in the diagram below. Those of you who play will likely recognize them, and those of you who don't are in for a glorious education:

Mastering the backhand Quarterback Sneak has been particularly difficult for me as I have trouble dislocating my thumb at the appropriate moment. Just gotta keep working on my timing!

People say the best games are easy to learn and difficult to master. If that is the case, ping-pong is one of the best games even invented. It is ridiculous, exhilarating, maddening, and hypnotic, sometimes in the span of a single shot. It is insanely addicting. It has just enough of an element of chance built in to be consistently unpredictable. In short, to borrow an expression from my sister, "It's the illest."